Minnesota has defense of marriage act on ballot – Reasons to vote no

Top 10 Reasons Women Are Voting No on the Anti-Marriage Amendment in Minnesota

1. Women know that freedom means freedom for everybody – women in our country have historically been denied freedoms other Americans have enjoyed. As women, we know the importance of protecting freedom for all Minnesotans. This amendment would limit the freedom of a certain group of Minnesotans.

2. Women understand the importance of having the freedom to marry the person they love – at one time in our history, women did not have the freedom to marry for love – they married out of obligation, for security or because it was their expected role. Today women understand that marriage is about love and commitment, and with that comes the rights and responsibilities of marriage that both partners take on. Gays and lesbians want to marry for those same reasons of love and commitment.

3. Women know that love is love and that it belongs to everybody – no one wants to be told it is illegal to marry the person you love. If a woman is married, she values that marriage and would not want to deny the joy of marriage to someone else.

4. Women know it’s not for us to judge others – if two loving, committed adults want to get married, it’s not for us to judge. Women’s choices should be respected by others, and as part of that, we understand it’s not for me to judge.

5. Women don’t want to exclude their children and grandchildren from decisions about our future – polls continue to show that the younger generation is more supportive of the freedom to marry for same-­‐sex couples. Passing this amendment would enshrine a restrictive definition of marriage in our constitution, shutting down the conversation forever. Women do not want to exclude the next generation from one day taking part in this conversation.

6. Women understand the importance of ensuring the government does not intrude on their private lives – women have long been subjected to government intrusion when it comes to their lives. We understand the government should not intrude in our lives, and see this amendment for what it is – a government intrusion into our personal lives.

7. Women know the strength of their marriage is not threatened by others – allowing committed, loving adults to marry the person they love does not harm a woman’s commitment to her husband or her family. Marriages are based on the promises between two people and the strength of that commitment, not by whether or not a committed gay or lesbian couple could marry.

8. Women know that families should decide what values their children learn – this amendment would place the values of some over those of others, giving the government the right to dictate what values children learn about family. Whether married or single moms, women should be able to teach our children the values we want to pass on like treating others the way we would want to be treated.

9. Women know the power of an active faith, where government doesn’t interfere with churches – many churches and other houses of worship in Minnesota want to marry gay couples. Some churches don’t. It should be up to the churches to decide which marriages they bless and officiate.

10. Women know there are many more pressing issues facing the next generation – in a time when we worry our children won’t have the same opportunities we had, when we struggle to make ends meet each month, women know there are many more important issues we should be tackling to improve the lives of the next generation, instead of limiting the freedom to marry.